Solving the Medication Adherence Challenge: Prescriptions for a Healthy America

Solving the Medication Adherence Challenge: Prescriptions for a Healthy America

05.02.13 | By John Castellani

Not taking our medicines as prescribed is a serious problem and finding remedies to help patients stick with their treatments as directed would go a long way to better health, not to mention helping control healthcare costs. With that in mind, I am proud to announce that PhRMA has joined a new partnership to advance solutions to the medication adherence challenge. Prescriptions for a Healthy America: A Partnership for Advancing Medication Adherence aims to improve patient care and bring together various stakeholders to help develop solutions and help patients and caregivers better understand the importance of using their medicines better.

Today, 145 million Americans suffer from chronic diseases and yet, only one-third are taking their medications as prescribed. The consequences are devastating, including on-going health problems and higher use of costly acute care, such as hospitalizations and surgeries. Importantly, many of these consequences are avoidable if medicines are taken as prescribed.

The Congressional Budget Office now recognizes that using medicines as directed saves money. Accordingly, for every 1 percent increase in the total number of prescriptions filled in Medicare, the CBO scoring now recognizes that medical spending will decrease by 0.2 percent.

That may not seem like a big number, but it is a big deal. For the first time, the government is acknowledging the importance of adherence to medicines for both better health and controlling healthcare costs.

PhRMA is particularly excited by the opportunity to partner with patient groups and other critical healthcare stakeholders in this initiative. Together, we can advance solutions that are so desperately needed to remedy the non-adherence problem, help improve the health of every American, and take another real step to reduce health care costs.

To learn more about the partnership, visit www.adhereforhealth.org and stay tuned as the partnership begins work on real solutions.